Box Score

LAWRENCEVILLE - For a few minutes on Friday evening, it looked to be an unlucky Friday the 13th for the Georgia Gwinnett baseball team, but that all changed with a two-out single from William Paschal in the bottom of the ninth as the Grizzlies grabbed a 9-8 victory over Lindenwood-Belleville to secure their first doubleheader sweep of the season at Grizzly Baseball Complex.

In the day's early encounter, Alex Roberts pitched his best game of the season to lead the Grizzlies to a 5-3 victory. GGC now sits at 6-2 on the season, and LUB dropped to 0-2.

Paschal, a junior out of Norcross, found himself in a familiar position to most of the GGC line-up in the day's second game as the Grizzlies entered the ninth scoring seven of the team's eight runs with two outs. Kyler Timmerman got the rally going, singling and later moving into scoring position on a Jamie McKnight groundball. Paschal, who had not recorded a hit in his preceding seven at-bats, made his final one count, dropping a single into shallow right center to bring the decisive score home.

"I just tried to forget my past at-bats and keep it simple," Paschal said. "Both games today were very hard-fought games, and I think we did a really good job when we needed to. We battled and scored a lot of two-out runs, and we were able to come out with two wins."

The late rally capped a game that saw the Grizzlies come from behind to take a lead twice.

Five different GGC players recorded multiple hits in the game as the Green and Gray out-hit the visitors from Illinois 14-9. Trey Haygood and Timmerman, who both entered the game as substitutes, finished 2-for-3 with a pair of scores to lead the offense.

After giving up a run apiece in the fourth and fifth innings, GGC got on the board with six in the bottom of the fifth. Paschal was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, and back-to-back singles from Brady Shoppe and Marcus McCorkle pulled the Grizzlies within one. A Haygood two-out single evened things up, and then Michael Hodorowski doubled to push two more across. Timmerman and McKnight each doubled in the ensuing two at bats to give Grizzly starter Sheldon Connor the four-run cushion.

Unfortunately for Connor, two runs in the sixth and then another two in the seventh chased him from the mound and made way for Tyler Oglesby, who surrendered another run on a Trey Meier sacrifice fly to give the lead back to the Lynx. Connor ended with six runs allowed on seven hits with four strikeouts. Oglesby gave up one score in an inning of work.

A Jereid Woods two-out single in the eighth put GGC ahead once more, but Christian Turnipseed, who recorded his first career save earlier in the day, was not as sharp in his second outing as a double and an error allowed LUB to tie things up. However, with the bases loaded and zero outs, the senior out of Powder Springs struck out three straight hitters to keep the game level and set the stage for the deciding bottom of the ninth.

"I really got a lot of confidence from Coach Stromdahl," Turnipseed. "He came out there with the bases loaded. I told him I wanted the ball because I got us into that jam and I had to get us out of it. He gave me the ball back and said, `Alright, let's go.'"

"Our back was against the wall, but we still expect to win," he continued. "We needed that one, and especially with the walk-off. We're already pumped up for tomorrow."

In the early game, Roberts tossed seven five-hit frames and Arsenio Watlington enjoyed yet another record day at the plate to guide the Grizzlies to a 5-3 victory. Roberts pitched seven innings, the deepest a GGC starter has gone this season, with seven strikeouts, and Watlington tied the school single-game hits record for a third time this season, ending 4-for-4 with a pair of scores and a run batted in.

"Alex did an unbelievably great job for us," Stromdahl said. "He had a little mishap there in the first, but he came back out, toed the rubber and put zeroes up. That's exactly what we needed from him. He did a tremendous job for us tonight and pitched like a Friday night starter."

Woods and Hodorowski also enjoyed two-hit days as the Grizzlies out-hit the Lynx 14-7.

A Christian Cavaness sacrifice fly and a Trey Meier double resulted in a pair of runs in the opening stanza, but Watlington would cut the deficit, leading off with a single, then stealing second and scoring on a Woods single to center.

Watlington also played a role in the second inning, tying up the game up with a single after Timmerman belted a one-out triple to get into scoring position.

"Arsenio is really locked in right now, and he has a really good approach at the plate," Stromdahl said. "It seems like everything is falling for him, and he's a big spark for our team. He's a big reason we're able to win games like these right now."

Jake Wright scored on a Ty Abbott single in the third, and then Watlington tripled and scored on another Woods single to double the Grizzly advantage.

Turnipseed made the trot to the mound in the eighth after LUB pulled back within one, and after an errant pitch loaded the bases, he struck out Cory Kovach to end the threat. He would strike out the side in the ninth, ending the night with seven strikeouts in 2.1 innings of work over the two games.

"Turnipseed is just a bulldog out there," Stromdahl said. "I know he'll succeed in situations like that because he's the guy on our team that everyone draws confidence from. He goes out there and exudes it, and he did exactly what we needed him to do in those kind of situations."

Turnipseed is now 2-0 on the season.

Dylan Skinner was the leading hitter for LUB on the night, finishing 4-for-10 with a trio of scores, and Cavaness went 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run. Mike Sabatino, who gave up four runs on 10 hits in the first game, was pegged with the loss, and closer Cody Calhoun lost the second, finishing with six hits allowed and a pair of earned runs over two outings.

The two teams will return to action on Saturday at Grizzly Baseball Complex for a second doubleheader, slated for a 1 p.m. start.

NOTES: GGC has never lost a three- or four-game series played at Grizzly Baseball Complex ... Timmerman's game-two game-winning score was the first ninth-inning run that the Grizzlies have scored this season ... Alex Roberts ranks second all-time in strikeouts with 107 for his career, and with two strikeouts last Saturday, Sheldon Connor became the third-ever Grizzly to record 100 career strikeouts with 102 ... Arsenio Watlington is now just the third player in school history with three career four-hit games, joining former standouts Phillip Bates and Robbie Payne ... Friday marked the first doubleheader that the GGC has swept this season ... The Grizzlies carry a 55-17 all-time mark at Grizzly Baseball Complex ... GGC owns a 3-1 record vs. the state of Illinois ... Previously, the Grizzlies fell 3-2 to St. Francis in the first game of the 2014 NAIA Opening Round before paying it back with an 11-8 victory two days later to knock St. Francis out of the tournament ... The Grizzlies have a 26-7 all-time record in the month of February ... Saturday marks the fourth doubleheader that the Grizzlies have played this season ... GGC is 4-2 in doubleheaders this season.

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